Blackberries were perceived by the ancient cultures as being a wild plant, and historical accounts for a backyard culture of blackberry bushes are few. The Greeks used the blackberry as a remedy for Gout, and the Romans made a tea from the leaves of the blackberry plant to treat various illnesses.
John Bartram, the early American explorer, botanist, and writer founded the first United States Botanical Garden, in 1728. In the early American colonies, William Bartram in his book, Travels, noted that General Oglethorpe was sent to the colony of Georgia in 1733 to investigate the possibility of establishing various temperate and subtropical plants which might “prove valuable for Georgia farms and orchards.” William Bartram noted further in his book, Travels, that he his father, John Bartram, were sent to explore the Southern colonies that included East Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Alabama to take an inventory of plants growing there after the Spanish were expelled by the English. Bartram reported that just outside of Mobile, Alabama, it “grows here five or six feet high, rambling like Brier vines over the fences and shrubs.”
Much of the first modern blackberry variety development was done in America, beginning with Judge Logan of California in 1880, and the release and introduction of the Loganberry.
The Boysenberry was developed from a natural selection saved from the abandoned farm of Mr. Rudolf Boysen by USDA member George Darrow, along with Walter Knott, a California fruit and berry enthusiast, whose wife began making berry preserves, and that farm later became the famous Knotts Berry Farm, located near the Walt Disney amusement park in California.
The Youngberry was developed in 1905 in Morgan City, Louisiana; it is a cross between Luther Burbank’s, Phenomenal Berry, and the Austin-Mayes Dewberry, a trailing blackberry. This berry had excellent qualities, such as taste and high yields, and it soon replaced the Loganberry of California after its release.
Blackberry plants, Rubus spp., can not be truthfully separated accurately by taxonomists into species, because the original species that existed centuries ago have intercrossed themselves in the natural state so completely, and the natural selections have reached a critical composition and complexity, that cannot be adequately recreated through backcrosses. Blackberry vines and bushes grow in the native state on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. The adaptatation factor to growing blackberries is broad and the cold hardiness of the blackberry bushes and vines extends into extremely cold territories. The bush form blackberry is more cold hardy than the trailing blackberry vines, and the range of growth extends into the northwestern portions of the United States. The trailing blackberry vines are considered by most taxonomists to be: Rubus macropetalus, Rubus loganobaccus, and Rubus ursinus. Erect blackberry bushes that are recognized as native genera are: Rubus frondosus, Rubus argutus, and Rubus allegheniensis.
Thorns are present in native blackberry plants and the thorns prevent grazing wildlife, animals and birds from eating the vines before the berry bushes flower and later when blackberries are produced. When the blackberries grow and ripen, they are not only consumed by wildlife animals and birds, but they have been enjoyed by humans for centuries. Luther Burbank wrote in his book, Fruit Improvement, in 1921 that many hybrids had been developed by his efforts and others to grow thornless blackberry bushes and vines. These thornless creations were at first inferior in taste and quality to the thorny species; however, modern hybridizers of thornless blackberry plants have created the cultivars:
The most important new hybrid, the Triple Crown, was released by the USDA. These new thornless blackberry bushes are released for growing in the Middle Atlantic and Pacific Northwest. The Triple Crown is thornless and ripens early to midseason. The fruit is firm and black with a balanced sub-acid sweet taste and is aromatically pleasing. This berry release is expected to be the sensational highlight for gardeners everywhere expecting high quality and growing adaptation. Other, older thornless blackberry releases are: Apache, Hull, Thornfree, Black Satin, Arapaho, Navaho, Chester, and Boysenberry. All these blackberries have overcome the sticky problems of the original thornless blackberry hybrids. Commercial thorny blackberry production has been stimulated by an introduction of these blackberry released cultivars: Austin-Mayes dewberry, Chicasaw blackberry, Shawnee blackberry, Kiowa blackberry, Choctaw blackberry, Cherokee blackberry, Cheyenne blackberry, Lawton blackberry, and the Ouchita blackberry that makes you say ‘ouch’ when you pick them. Most of the above released blackberry cultivars are hybrids of a Brazos blackberry and Darrow cross.
Blackberries please the taste of humans as well as that of animals and are believed by many wildlife conservationists to be the most important naturalized growing plant that provides food for wildlife.
Wildlife animals and birds eat blackberries as food or receive a thorny protective cover from blackberry bushes or vines that wind along fences, animals such as quail, doves, turkey, raccoons, opossums, and believe it or not, bears. Perhaps children enjoy eating a fistful of blackberries from wild plants growing at the edge of the woods in summer, and then return home with the tell-tale purple stains on their teeth, lips, and clothing. Wild blackberries are delicious when they grow in profusion at the wood’s edge into bushy plants or as trailing vines called dewberries. The delicate balance of a sweet and sour taste can stimulate the senses from the new hybrid cultivars towards heights unequaled by other berries or fruits.
Much of the early American blackberry hybridization was done by Luther Burbank, who introduced his Phenomenal Berry and even a white blackberry, but it was too soft to successfully ship commercially.
Although most botanists classify blackberry plants into 3 types, Erect, trailing vines, and semi-erect plants, the in-between semi-erect plants, theoretically, could be actually an erect plant loaded with ripe berries. That semi-erect classification offers little clarification of taxonomic principles.
Blackberries fresh from the vines are useful in many foods; they are delicious in frozen packs, canned, as blackberry wine, ice cream, fresh blackberry juice, blackberry pies, blackberry jelly, blackberry jam, and best of all when eaten as a fresh fruit. Many health benefits come from eating blackberries that are rich in anti-oxidants and vitamins along with being a good source of the minerals potassium, phosphorus, iron, and calcium.
By: Pat Malcolm
When Phileas Fogg set off around the world on a wager for £20,000 he was given just 80 days in which to circumnavigate the planet – a feat deemed almost laughable upon the arrival of the magnificent Concorde, but nonetheless an enviable adventure. Anyone who has been travelling will concede that the world is a spectacular place; but for those home-birds amongst us, look no further than the wonders of the world personalised calendars.
Europe
Home to some of the UK’s most beautiful stately homes, public gardens and, erm…Douglas Hurd and Billie Piper, Wiltshire has every right to fight for a place on the list of top places to visit before you die. For those in the know, Wiltshire also happens to be the home of that unusual and mystical monument – Stonehenge – one of the seven wonders of the Medieval World, and perhaps more importantly, the image for ‘April’ in the wonders of the world personalised calendars. The famous stones spell out the name of the recipient, a real homage to anyone of any age. It is from Wiltshire that we travel to one of the more iconic images, the Eiffel Tower in Paris. This world famous landmark adorns the February image and stands proudly below the white clouds that happen to spell out the name of our gift recipient.
Africa
Egypt has long been a popular tourist destination and was the first pit-stop for the famous Philleas Fogg. Home to the Great Pyramids of Giza, these stunning structures are the pride of the Ancient wonders of the World, and of course, the spectacular choice in image for ‘May’ in the personalised calendars. With a bit of a leap south, the African continent also hosts the image for June which displays the remarkable image of the Serengeti migration – where some of Africa’s most famous inhabitants magically spell out the name of our personalised calendars recipients. Travelling further south, it won’t be long before we reach August’s ‘Victoria Falls’, the world’s largest waterfall and one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
Asia
Climbing Everest is certainly not for the faint hearted, but with the wonders of the world personalised calendars, it won’t just look like our recipient has climbed the Himalaya Mountains, but that they’ve also taken a moment to carve their name into the snow and taken a stunning picture to prove it – a fitting snowy image for the Decmeber image in the personalised calendars. Unsurprisingly, Asia has much to offer in terms of stunning places to visit but it is the Great Wall of China that is celebrated on the personalised calendars and takes pride of pace as the image for March.
Australasia
Unfortunately it was considered to be a little out of the way for Mr Fogg, but he was on a rather tight deadline and as we have a whole 365 days in which to enjoy the tour, it makes sense to spend a whole month (August) in Australia, more specifically; at the Great Barrier Reef. One of the Natural wonders or the world, the planet’s largest coral reef system can be seen from space, and it is this aerial view from which our recipient will be able to make out the remarkable formation of reef that magically spells out their name.
South America
South America is diverse in terms of the landscapes it has to offer any tourist: from tropical rainforests, mountain ranges and desert plains, it probably comes as no surprise that this continent has become so widely associated with the rich and even richer. The Harbour of Rio de Janeiro is not only considered to be a millionaires’ playground, it also happens to be considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world. With the cruise liners and yachts lining up to spell out a certain someone’s name, the image for October is sure to be one of the more extraordinary pictures in this personalised calendar.
North America
North America is home to many different wonders of the world – the Hoover Dam isn’t all that bad for a massive slab of concrete; however, it is the Grand Canyon that is celebrated in these personalised calendars, quite rightly so as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Look closely at this November image and you might just see a familiar name cast in shadows against the famous red rock. For something a little more ‘man-made’ then the Empire State building might just be the answer. New York was Phileas Fogg’s last stop before returning to London, but you can be certain he didn’t have his name spelt out in fireworks across the New York – New Year sky. But there is just one more stop on our world trip before we can go home…
The North Pole
Perhaps the most magical of all the wonders of the world, not to mention the stunning image for September in the personalised calendars, the Northern Lights make for a perfect last stop. These ‘Auroras’ as they are formally known, are only visible near the magnetic poles, and are typically seen from parts of Western Canada, Greenland and Scotland but can also be found in the southern hemisphere areas of Antarctica, South America and Australasia. Look closely and you’ll see a familiar name twinkle in the stars in what should be the final stop of this 365 day trip around the world.
By: John Smith
by, Jeff Sanders
by, Jeff Sanders
Garmin GPS Navigation Systems
Geocaching, what is it and how do I Join in the fun and Adventure of Geocaching
Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is an widely popular, high-tech treasure hunting game that has taken off in popularity, especially in the past few years. Many adventure seekers throughout the world are finding caches of treasure (called “geocaches” or “caches”) that have been left for them to find by fellow Geocachers. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, usually a Tupperware or ammo box containing a logbook and treasure. You hunt and locate geocaches with your GPS device, and inside you find treasures that other people have left. You can even leave your own treasure for the next person to find and share with a their friends.
Don’t think there are any geocaches in your neck of the woods? That’s because they are not in plain view but hidden, so you need to hunt for them. You also need the longitude and latitude (coordinates) of their location to be able to find them. There are over 800,000 active geocaches around the world and they can be found on all seven continents, including Antarctica. With that number growing rapidly, you are sure to find them in your own neighborhood, on vacation half way around the world, in urban locations and even way out in the woods on your next camping trip. Don’t forget to mark your car or campsite as a waypoint to ensure you find your way back. the
Typical cache treasures are not high in monetary value but may hold personal value to the finder. Aside from the logbook, common cache contents are unusual coins or currency, small toys, ornamental buttons, CDs, or books. Also common, are objects that are moved from cache to cache, such as Travel Bugs or Geocoins, whose travels may be logged and followed online. Cachers who initially place a Travel Bug or Geocoin often assign specific goals for their trackable items. Such goals might include a destination like to visit all seven continents or certain country’s. Occasionally an item of higher value is included for the first person who find’s the geocache, or in locations that are harder to get to or find.
How to know where to look for Geocaches
The GPS coordinates of the caches are published on Geocaching websites like www.Geocaching.com (also known as “Groundspeak”) and the original site www.Groundspeak.com. You can find the locations (coordinates) of geocaches, along with the details of their location’s so you know what to look for and how hard it is to find before you get there. After you find the cache you can share your adventure and photos with the rest of the geocaching community online. There are also many local geocaching chapters that cater to just a state or even city that have information on caches in that particular area. Most Geocaching associations and chapters hold annual functions or outings, much like a high-tech Easter egg hunt. That is a great way for the whole family to get out and have fun together. There are many blogs and forums that are dedicated to Geocaching where you can read about other Geocachers experiences, events and functions that are in your area as well as in other countries all around the world. They are also a great way to keep in touch with the Geocaching community and learn the in’s and out’s of Geocaching.
There is also a invitation only Geocaching community (www.TerraCaching.com). This isn’t so much to keep people out, but to delegate much of the responsibility for ensuring high quality, legal and appropriate caches to the community itself. They use a complex, dynamic rating system which learns from members and actively encourages a focus on the quality, not quantity, of caches that members post to provide more fun, memorable and challenging cache hunts. To become a member you need two existing members to sponsor you. To start you just register a “starter account” and their system will automatically look for potential sponsors in your area, also you can post a message pleading your case to the “Applications for Sponsorship” section of the forums. They say that most new members who post here get sponsors within a few hours depending on time of day and the day of the week.
Caches come in all shapes and sizes. From a small vial the size of your pinkie that is only big enough to hold the paper with the log on it, to a five gallon bucket and even larger. Geocaches vary greatly in difficulty and location from simple caches commonly referred to as “drive-bys,” to much more complex multi-staged geocaches with points containing the coordinates for the next stage along the way. The final stage contains the log book and trade items. There are even underwater caches and caches that are located 50 feet up a tree. There are even night time caches where you may need to shine a flashlight in a particular direction and fallow the reflectors to the cache. There is really no limit to how you can hide a cache, the only limit is to the imagination and that adds to the fun of the hunt.
Geocaching Guidelines and Etiquette
You want to be aware of local laws when hiding or hunting for that cache on public lands. You can get this information from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at (www.blm.gov). Be sure to go to the state and county that you are interested in. As for National Parks and National Monuments, in most cases you just need a permit for Geocaching from the National Park Service (www.nps.gov). Each National Park and National Monument has their own website, most of them have dedicated a page of that site to information on Geocaching in their park (if you can’t find it just call). Of course the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management are charged with the care of our public land, and as you can imagine they would need to know where these caches are located as well as how many people are hunting for them because of the delicate ecosystems they need to protect.
Of course you must follow all legal laws like Trespassing laws, so always get the permission of the land owner. Although each website has their own specific guidelines for acceptable geocache publications, in general once Geocachers find a cache, they follow these four simple and basic rules: (1) Fill out the logbook. (2) If you take something from the geocache, leave something of equal or greater value in return. (3) Return the cache to the exact position and condition in which it was found. (4) Be mindful of the environment, practice Cache In Trash Out. Believe it or not, the bomb squad has blown up a few caches. Yes we live in some crazy times. Someone not familiar with you or the sport of Geocaching might think something suspicious is going on and call the authorities. Even though hiding and hunting Geocaches is not illegal (provided you get permission of the land owner) not being aware of your surroundings and/or being stealthy could result in a perfectly good cache getting blown up.
What to look for in a Geocaching GPS receiver
All you really need is a GPS that can point you to a specific Longitude and Latitude position, something that most GPS devices can do. Though there are some basic features to look for that will make your Geocaching experience much more enjoyable. General features to look for when purchasing a GPS unit to geocache include: (1) Lightweight and compact, makes it easier to carry especially on long hikes and when you need to negotiate through rocks and trees (look for a wrist strap too!). (2) Waterproof, caches can be hidden under or near water and you never know when you might slip crossing a creek or river. (3) Long battery life, a must for those hard-to-find, remote caches. (4) Waypoint storage, that will hold more cache locations (don’t forget to mark your car as a waypoint to ensure you find your way back.) (5) Screen readability, should be easy to read in daylight and at night.
There are some more advanced features to look for that will make it even easier for you to find that big cache that include: (1) WAAS-enabled, that means your GPS unit will give you better position accuracy, within 3 meters (10 feet) 95% of the time. (2) Built-in digital Compass, they are convenient and come in handy when you get within 100 feet of your cache (you’ll need to stand still for a few seconds to get a direction reading). (3) Altimeter, shows how high up you are for those vertically hidden caches. (4) Mapping Capabilities, makes it easier to navigate when you can download maps to your unit and are able to see the terrain you will be trekking through, as well as when looking for places to cross rivers and things. Garmin’s Colorado and Oregon GPS receivers come with topographical maps already pre installed. (5) External antenna, for use under heavy tree cover or difficult terrain where it may be difficult for the GPS to maintain a strong lock on the satellite signal.
There are, what are called “Paperless Geocaching GPS receivers.” Garmin has worked with Groundspeak to enable their Colorado and Oregon handheld GPS receivers to be compatible with the “.gpx file.” This allows you to download cache data including descriptions, hints, waypoint information, and cache logs directly from www.Geocaching.com to your Garmin GPS unit via a USB connection to the computer, so you can eliminate printing out paper cache pages. In addition, Geocaching data can be transferred wireless between two Garmin users in close proximity. This make the Garmin Colorado and Garmin Oregon handheld GPS receivers truly a “Geoaching friendly” GPS receiver.
Groundspeak has also created a interactive Geocaching experience with their “Wherigo player” that combines adventure games with GPS technology. Imagine playing Zork, Secret of Monkey Island or Myst, but in the park around the corner, or on the beach during your family vacation. Rather than clicking the mouse and selecting a location to move your character, you physically move from one location to the next to advance the story. Rather than searching for puzzle clues on a screen, you look for them in the real life. Garmin is the first GPS manufacturer to include the Wherigo player already installed on their Colorado and Oregon handheld GPS receivers. Using Wherigo, you can create interactive tours, adventure games and puzzles that give you endless possibilities of adventure.
by, Jeff Sanders
Garmin GPS Navigation Systems
By: Jeff Sanders
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